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Renter's Insurance - please give me the infos
Deusfaux
Registered User regular
Registered User regular
What it covers you from - fire/flood/theft?
Is there a limit on how much it covers?
Is there a deductible to pay in event of bad news
Do you get lower premiums if you don't smoke and keep a fire extinguisher and all that?
How much it costs /month /year?
Good companies to get it from (particularly the Vancouver area)?
Is there a limit on how much it covers?
Is there a deductible to pay in event of bad news
Do you get lower premiums if you don't smoke and keep a fire extinguisher and all that?
How much it costs /month /year?
Good companies to get it from (particularly the Vancouver area)?
Deusfaux on
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Renters insurance generally covers your contents, so any damage to the property is covered by your landlord's insurance. When I rented I think it was around $14-$20 per month for $50,000 maximum coverage. They'll ask you how much you want covered. Basically, what is all your shit worth if you turned your apartment upside down and counted whatever fell out.
There will definitely be a deductible, but there are situations where this won't be out of your pocket. For example, they could waive the deductible if something of yours has minor damaged and you don't need it replaced. Like, a couch was torn in the back during a break-in. Instead of the cost of the couch, they waive the deductible. Up to you.
Again, everything varies, so you'll need to call around and ask these questions to the insurance companies.
-> I will call the auto insurance places and see if they do renter's
One thing to be aware of is the policy may be written such that although you have $25K protection, your coverage for electronics maxes out at $3K or your coverage for jewelry maxes out at $5K (and maxes out at $1K per item) or somesuch limitations. If you have a lot of a particular class of stuff (electronics, jewelry) such that they exceed the limitations of a particular renters policy and you want them covered, then you may have to increase the coverage limit, add a rider, or get a personal property policy (State Farm calls it "personal articles policy"). A better question to ask then "what's coverred and when" is "what's not coverred, and when isn't it coverred?"
Smoke detectors, burglar alarms, monitored security, sprinkler systems, and whatnot may confer discounts, if they do and how much depends on the particulars of the policy.
A useful thing to have is a type of cover called "tenant's liability" (that's what it's called in the UK, I don't know if there will be a different term in the US), which covers stuff that wouldn't normally fall under a Contents definition, but your tenancy agreement says you're responsible for.
Yeah, all in all you need it. So shop around but just make sure you get it.
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Standard renters was about $100 a year I think, it might have changed it has been a while.
1. What it covers you from:
Depends. Water damage for example can be very tricky, as in where did the damage come from. An overflowing storm drain that was the fault of the city - maybe not. Your upstairs neighbour leaving their bathtub on till overflowing - probably. You need to read the fine print and there may be additional coverage you can purchase if you are concerned.
Earthquakes is extra, there's some others that are not included in the base policy I think.
2. Limit to how much it covers?
Absolutely. I think standard is somewhere under $80,000 of so of personal property. There are individual limits, too. Like electronics might be $5000. This might not be enough for you, you may need to purchase additional coverage. You'll want to estimate your possessions and then talk in depth about the claims process to make sure you have the evidence you need stored off-property (like on Google Docs). You might need pictures, serial numbers, receipts, or other proofs. You may only get the value of the items used, not new value, so talk to your advisor and understand what you are paying for and how to increase your coverage.
3. Deductible.
There is almost always a deductible. You can get it lowered through additional bonus coverages.
4. Premiums
To get mine lowered was too hard. They needed monitored alarms, window locks, a bunch of stuff I don't care to bother with. There are discounts and they will go through them all with you on the phone.
When I last got tenant's insurance in Vancouver, I went through an insurance broker, Johnston Meier. This was after my credit union (Coast Capital) and BCAA had both turned me down, because I was living in a wood-framed apartment building which had restaurants on the bottom floor. The broker found me someone who would insure us (at a hefty premium, mind you, because of the extra fire risk).
Other random things the insurance people will want to know: what type of building (wood, concrete, etc.), what year was it built, how far are you from a fire station (they can look that one up for you).
Edit:
Also, once you get your insurance, take your camera and take pictures of everything you own. Now save those somewhere not in your house - on a CD at your parents', at work, whatever. If you ever need to make a claim, you'll be glad you did this.
That's what I do. I have TD as my bank and have TD Insurance on the car and Apartment. It's a little over $100 / year but it drops my car insurace down 70ish a year.
My apartment requires that we have insurance, not for ourselves but it's the $1,000,000 liablity they are interested in. If we accidently started a fire that took down the whole building, the insurance would pay, not us individually.
Best case is always read the fine print. It may take a while to find what you need but you'll know what you are getting.
I'm glad that it's nowhere near as expensive as car insurance.
Question: how does it work for multiple people living together?
2 scenarios. roommates sharing the same apartment
and people in a relationship (also roommates) sharing the same apartment
does everyone always get their own? or one policy for entire apartment?
or only shared policies for people in a relationship / sharing a bedroom?
another twist: if someone is not on the lease, will that affect their ability to get insurance? like perhaps they need something of proof from the landlord saying you live there, even if it's easy to prove or demonstrate othewise.
EDIT: also, should I hold off from buying a fire extinguisher until they tell me there's a specific rating or kind of one they'd want to give me discount?
If you buy the policy, only your stuff is covered by it; if they want to be covered on it, they'd need to be added as additional insureds.
Renters insurance is practically free. Keep in mind that if it isn't accidental fire or theft, it's reasonably safe to assume your policy doesn't cover you.
Since we're both in Canada, I'm going to assume that our situations with renters insurance will be at least basically similar. The only discount you're going to get on your contents insurance is from a multi-line discount (more policies with one company). You aren't going to get a discount for smoke alarms. That's a requirement and you'll be fined by the city if the fire chief ever comes by for inspections. You won't get a discount for an extinguisher, either. Just go buy an extinguisher now. It's maybe $20 for the under-the-sink variety. I'll assume since you're renting that you don't have a monitored security system (emphasis on monitored--they don't care if there is a beeping noise alone when someone breaks in)
As for other people living with you, unless they are your family, they need their own policy.
When you call, make sure you have some information ready to get a proper quote:
Name of the landlord/building corporation
Distance to the nearest fire hall
Distance to the nearest fire hydrant (doesn't need to be exact.)
Age of the building
Description of the building (is it brick? etc.)
Is there a firewall between units?
Is it heated by forced air or baseboard heating?
That's all I can think of off the top of my head, but have a good understanding of the place. You might want to give your landlord a call and ask their advice, they may have a recommendation for you.